Here are a couple of pics from the Radio Times 30th Dec 1972 to 5 January 1973 for “The Three Doctors” Check out the blurb in the first pic by Carole Ann Ford about Susan. The second pic shows her, Katy Manning and Frazer Hines doing a photoshoot for this RT issue.
From technical trickery to his favourite props, the actor gives us an insight into how the show was made.
Tom Hiddleston gives viewers a behind-the-scenes tour of the impressive The Essex Serpent set, in a new video released exclusively to readers of RadioTimes.com.
The new period drama is based on Sarah Perry’s novel of the same name, in which a widow from London moves to Essex in search of a mythical serpent, only to strike up an unexpected bond with a local pastor.
Hiddleston and Homeland star Claire Danes take the lead roles of Will Ransome and Cora Seaborne respectively, while Frank Dillane (Fear the Walking Dead), Hayley Squires (I, Daniel Blake) and Clémence Poésy (The Tunnel) also star.
The six-part miniseries was filmed on location during the winter, as Hiddleston explains that a “wintry atmosphere” was needed, but the production moved to an indoor soundstage as the weather brightened up.
The Enfield-based studio is a sight to behold, including a detailed reconstruction of the Essex home and landscape used in the initial weeks of filming. Hiddleston has more fascinating insights to offer in the video.
Hiddleston explains: “As an actor, it’s so inspiring because you walk into a space – you’ve imagined the world in your mind, but it’s been built for you – and all you have to do is inhabit it. It’s a real gift from the designers.”
The clip gives you a sense of the attention to detail as Hiddleston picks out two of his favourite props, which might not even be noticed in the finished show, yet play a real role in breathing life into the world of The Essex Serpent.
Apple TV+’s The Essex Serpent is that rare, mythical beast: an adaptation that feels just as compelling as its celebrated source material.
Based on Sarah Perry’s bestselling book, the series stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston and is set in Victorian England. Danes are heartbreakingly wonderful as Cora Seaborne, a recently widowed amateur naturalist who relocates to Essex to investigate rumours of a monstrous serpent.
Cora is traumatised by years of abuse at the hands of her sadistic late husband: a coiled (perhaps even serpentine) scar on her neck is revealed to have been branded into her skin by a hot, curved poker, an incident we witness in a particularly harrowing flashback.
Moments after his funeral, we see Cora impulsively throw away the earrings she’s wearing, sending them down the River Thames, before explaining that her husband often bought her jewellery (in another flashback, we see him strangle her with a glittering necklace).
However, Cora is by no means friendless: she is already being courted by her late husband’s doctor, the pioneering Luke, and she is loved by her loyal maidservant Martha. With the latter’s support, Cora makes the decision to reclaim her life and pursue her passion for natural history, starting with a trip to the Essex marshes to look into recent reports of a mythical serpent, which she believes to be some kind of Plesiosaur.
Claire Danes (who was cast in the role of Cora after Keira Knightley bowed out) completely inhabits the role, giving the character energy and nerviness in addition to a bold physical presence, striding through the Essex mud as if it’s all her own.
Meanwhile, the series is beautiful to look at, in particular, the evocation of the bleak - but bewitching - wintry landscape Cora finds there.
Sometimes - as with many period dramas these days - you’ll find yourself squinting at the screen, trying to make out the details of a nighttime scene lit only by candlelight or flaming torches. Otherwise, many of the shots feel almost like stepping into a Victorian-era painting - although the series certainly doesn’t shy away from some of the grislier realities of everyday life, including skinned animals strung up to ward off the ‘beast’.
Cora finds Essex to be a superstitious place (“It’s witch-burning country,” Martha quips), and by no means welcoming: on a walk during her first day in the county, she comes across a man - covered in blood and mud - wrestling with a sheep stuck in the marsh.
She comes to his aid, but gets little thanks; as soon as he realises she’s a tourist hunting the ‘Essex Serpent’, he tells her to leave: “There’s nothing to see. Go home.”
Of course, this especially rude man turns out to be Will Ransome (Hiddleston), the very vicar she’s due to meet after a mutual friend puts them in touch.
Hiddleston gives the audience calculated flashes of Will’s hidden fears and anxieties, all stemming from his parishioners’ superstition about the serpent, which he sees as a threat to their faith.
Neither Cora nor Will is what the other expected (both initially assume the other will be old, fusty, and dull). At the dinner table with Will’s wife and children, Cora challenges his belief that the monstrous serpent must be a fairytale.
“If I were to let in any doubt how could I look after my flock?” he counters.
However, by the final moments of the first episode, tragedy strikes, and Cora’s arrival sees cracks beginning to appear in both the community and Will’s careful facade - letting the doubt creep in.
Lovely evening spent with this blue eyed Irish man, can’t wait for new Peaky Blinders (Cillian Murphy and Steven Knight) at the RadioTimes Festival tonight via twitter)
From the archives, the Doctor Who motion graphics cover I designed for Radio Times’ iPad edition to mark Peter Capaldi’s debut.
Portrait photography: Jude Edginton Art direction, design and retouching: Stuart Manning Animation: Ross Shepherd and Kris Hawes Sound design: Neil Gardner
On 22 January 1927, the BBC broadcast their first ever commentary of a league football match. It was a game between Arsenal and Sheffield United that resulted in a 1-1 draw. For a first attempt, the BBC’s approach was suitably experimental and unexpectedly visual.
To help radio listeners visualise the commentator’s description, producer Lance Sieveking created a handy visual aid and had it published in the BBC’s listings magazine, The Radio Times.
This diagram presented a map of the pitch with several distinct, numbered areas marked out.
The idea was that commentators would be able to use these numbers as fast, accurate indicators of where the ball was travelling or where the action was taking place.
This particular map comes from 29 January 1927 and applies to a second broadcast between Corinthians & Newcastle United.
Of course, the grid system is now a thing of the past, falling out of favour as the style of sporting commentary evolved, but you will find many examples in our archived issues of The Radio Times, running right into the mid-1930s.
The idea to broadcast commentary on the BBC was inspired by journalist Hamilton Fyfe’s trip to the US, which he had written about for the Radio Times just a few issues previously.
Describing a commentator he observed Stateside, Fyfe said “He spoke as if he were telephoning,” and he detailed his glass commentary box. In the beginning, the BBC’s broadcasts came from the even less glamorous surroundings of a small wooden hut, often compared to a garden shed.
The BBC’s first commentator was Henry “Teddy” Wakelam, a former Rugby player. Not only did he cover football for the corporation but also cricket and tennis, including an infamous episode at Wimbledon during which he accidentally set fire to his notes but carried on regardless.
